«Pushing a child is useless»

Mr Moser, how do we achieve equal opportunities at school?

We can only approach it, but we cannot achieve it. Equal opportunities remain an illusion.

An illusion?

Yes, the opportunities are never the same for everyone. Children only have the chance to obtain an educational qualification, such as the Matura, if they have the necessary prerequisites and decide to do so. Whether children take advantage of opportunities depends firstly on their abilities and the educational background of their parents and secondly on their decisions.

But surely children and young people should have equal opportunities, regardless of their social background?

That should be the case, but it never will be. Not all parents have the same opportunities to invest in their children's education. Parents with little knowledge and little time, with limited emotional and financial resources cannot support their child in the same way as educated and wealthy parents who do everything they can to ensure that their child succeeds at school.

It therefore always depends on the educational background of the parents.

Financial resources that are used for additional support or knowledge of the opportunities within our education system can also be important.

But such inequalities must be reduced!

This is also being worked on. However, reducing social inequalities is not quite so simple. Equal opportunities require education, which is why there is increasing investment in early education - even before kindergarten.

But this is not so easy to implement. The state cannot, for example, prescribe language courses for disadvantaged children from birth; the most it can do is offer them. Parents have the right to bring up their children as they see fit within a legal framework.

... and not to give them a language course.

Opportunities are always linked to people. They ultimately decide whether or not to seize an opportunity. If they do not, this does not mean that the education system is unfair or that nothing is being done to reduce social inequalities. That's why I don't think equal opportunities is a particularly apt term. I prefer to speak of equal opportunities.

What would be fair?

An education system that endeavours to reduce social inequalities by providing specific opportunities for children from socially disadvantaged families, thus enabling them to compensate for deficits due to their background.

Abolishing homework would tend to reinforce inequality.

Urs Moser

And what grade do you give the Swiss education system in terms of equal opportunities?

Not a bad one. The permeability between the individual school levels has improved significantly in recent years. Anyone who wants to do a Matura in the canton of Zurich, for example, has numerous opportunities to do so.

You can transfer to a long-term grammar school after the sixth grade, to a short-term grammar school after the eighth or ninth grade, do basic vocational training with a vocational baccalaureate or catch up on the baccalaureate after vocational training. If you have the cognitive prerequisites and the necessary motivation, you can do it.

This should suit children from less educated families.

Absolutely - those who are further along in their development, have acquired more knowledge and are clear about their professional future can evaluate things differently and make decisions more consciously than in their primary school years.

In the canton of Zurich, for example, primary school pupils have to take an exam to get into a long-term grammar school. This is not the case in Lucerne, where the average grade counts. How fair is that?

You are addressing a second cause of social inequality. If you look at the interfaces in the education system, for example the transition from primary school to secondary school, you can see weaknesses. Things are not just fair there.

I could imagine that it is generally easier to get into grammar school in Lucerne. Wouldn't it be better for families to move there?

As a person close to education, you could certainly influence the teacher so that your child achieves the average grade for grammar school.

So the pressure on teachers is higher in cantons without entrance exams?

Of course. But even in Lucerne, it's not the case that parents simply decide which school their child goes to. There are assessment meetings about grades, performance and behaviour, and a decision is made together at the end. However, when parents are involved in choosing the right school for their children, their background can play a role. Parents from academic families also expect their children to go to a grammar school.

From this point of view, the model with an entrance exam seems fairer.

You could look at it like this. An independent decision is made in which the parents have nothing to do directly. Indirectly, however, they are also involved in the exam decision, as financially strong families enable their children to prepare for exams privately for considerable sums of money.

Many education experts are in favour of abolishing homework as it exacerbates inequalities in the education system. This is their thesis.

I disagree with that. It would only mean that children from educationally disadvantaged families would no longer be involved in schoolwork after school, while parents with an educational background would still sit down with their children, review what they have learnt and give them their own tasks.

The chance of attending a grammar school depends above all on where you live.

Homework ultimately also aims to practise certain skills and encourage children to work independently. Homework also provides an opportunity for parents and children to talk to each other about school and lessons. In my opinion, more equity is hardly achieved by reducing opportunities simply because they cannot be used equally by all children.

The problem could be solved with homework supervision after school or by introducing day schools. What could day schools do?

The goal of «reducing social inequalities» is always about using time wisely. Some parents are unable to ensure that their children use their free time wisely. A day school can do that. I don't mean cramming under supervision between 4 and 6 pm. Spending time sensibly means, above all, moving around or playing freely, doing sports, making music, crafting, programming - simply doing something that is fun and takes place in a good setting. For children who are not looked after in the afternoons because their parents work, this would be a huge advantage.

However, opportunities are also unevenly distributed between urban and rural areas.

Definitely! The chance of attending a grammar school depends not only on ability and parental background, but above all on where you live. In Basel-Stadt, the statistical chance of attending a grammar school is twice as high as in the canton of St. Gallen.

Why is that?

The canton of Basel-Stadt has focussed more strongly on the demand for grammar school education. On the one hand, this meets the needs of pupils and their parents, but on the other hand it can also be interpreted as a reaction to the shortage of skilled labour. There are more grammar school places than in other cantons. Because there are no more intelligent pupils in Basel than in the canton of St. Gallen, the hurdles for a place at a grammar school in Basel are most likely lower than in St. Gallen. From the perspective of educational equity, it would be desirable for the requirements for certain programmes to be the same in every canton.

I have always shown an interest in my children's school careers without nagging them with constant questions or checks.

In one of our issues, we reported on ChagALL, a support programme for talented migrants who are to be made fit for short-term secondary school through additional lessons. Their parents are unable to offer them this support. Do such programmes help?

Very much so, because the programme meets a need and the young people have a goal in mind: the transition to secondary school. Two key success factors come together here: the pupils are highly motivated and the support in the programme is sufficient and effective. Both factors are necessary conditions for the success of a support programme.

How committed should parents be to ensuring that their children seize their opportunities? For example, as a mum, should I supervise my child's homework every day?

It depends on how you do it. Pretending to be a teacher and constantly explaining to the child how things work and what they have to do is certainly not helpful. But it's certainly not wrong to ask from time to time: «Have you done your homework?» or «Have you ever thought about what you want to do later?».

I think it's important to accompany the children and show a normal interest in school matters and later in their professional interests. But always with moderation and support.

Do parents, especially those who work a lot, take too little time for such things these days?

I can't judge that.

Children don't need long conversations about homework, but they do need emotional attention and support.what did you do with your two daughters, who are now almost grown up?

I always talked to my children about their homework because it interested me professionally. And I also talked to them about their school and career goals.

At an early stage, I had to point out to them from time to time that they had to do something if they wanted to achieve their goals. But that kind of thing can be clarified in a normal everyday conversation. The older they got, the more independent they became.

Pushing a child in school is useless. Support and appropriate expectations, on the other hand, do.

Many parents dream of this.

I'm not saying that it has to go so smoothly in all cases. I've been lucky with my children in this respect. But I have also shown a certain interest in their school careers from the very beginning, without nagging them with constant questions or checks. We still enjoy talking about school and their future careers today.

And about what exactly?

A big issue is whether the lessons are interesting and whether the teachers are fair. If they think a teacher is particularly great, I always want to know why. And of course we talk about what is possible after school.

Can parents push their children too hard?

Of course - and there may also be those unhappy children at grammar schools who are overwhelmed and out of place; but there are hardly as many of them as we keep hearing based on these discussions. Pushing doesn't help, but support and reasonable expectations do. If you listen to the children, you usually realise where their interests lie and how you can support them.

And if a child aspires to something other than a higher school career, should you give in to that?

Absolutely. You can't whip a child through grammar school if they don't have the cognitive skills or motivation. The requirements of grammar schools in Switzerland are too high for that. And if the child wants to catch up on the Matura at a later date and study, there are plenty of opportunities in Switzerland.